Venezuela’s interim president signals willingness to work with the US after Maduro’s arrest

Delcy Rodriguez, Venezuela’s interim President, has signalled willingness to work with the United States on Venezuela’s future, striking a softer tone just a day after a US military operation led to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro.

“We consider it a priority to move towards a balanced and respectful relationship between the US and Venezuela,” Rodriguez said in a statement published on Telegram on Sunday. “We extend an invitation to the US government to work together on an agenda for cooperation aimed at shared development.”

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The remarks mark a notable shift from Rodriguez’s earlier condemnation of the operation, which US officials have described as a law enforcement action. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were seized by US special forces in what American officials have portrayed as the most high-risk overseas mission since the 2011 raid that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, according to multiple reports.

Rodriguez, who has served as Maduro’s deputy since 2018, was appointed interim president on Saturday by Venezuela’s Supreme Court. In a televised address shortly after the operation, she described the US action as “an atrocity that violates international law”. She insisted that “the only president of Venezuela is President Nicolas Maduro”.

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Tensions quickly escalated after Rodriguez referred to the Trump administration as a group of “extremists”. US President Donald Trump responded by issuing a direct warning.

“If she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro,” Trump told The Atlantic in an interview early on Sunday. He also said further strikes on Venezuela were possible and did not rule out deploying US troops, adding that Washington was now “in charge”.

Despite her outreach on cooperation, Rodriguez said she had also set up a commission to push for the release of Maduro and Flores from US custody. The commission will be co-chaired by Foreign Minister Yvan Gil and Jorge Rodriguez, her brother and the president of Venezuela’s National Assembly.

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Maduro is facing a string of charges in the United States, including narcoterrorism conspiracy and cocaine trafficking. US prosecutors first filed the case in 2020. He is due to appear before a federal court in New York on Monday, according to multiple reports.

US officials have insisted the seizure of Maduro was not an act of war but a legal move to enforce criminal charges. The operation, however, has sent shockwaves through Latin America and raised fresh questions about sovereignty, international law, and Washington’s use of force.